Divine Openness for Physical Relationship

Pavel Butakov

doi:10.18290/rf21693-9

Pavel Butakov Institute of Philosophy and Law, Novosibirsk, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8133-1626

Keywords: divine hiddenness, Schellenberg, personal relationships, love, natural theology, divine creation, equality and capabilities

Abstract

The success of the atheistic hiddenness argument depends on the “consciousness constraint” it imposes on the divine-human loving relationship: namely, that this relationship requires human conscious awareness of being in the relationship with God. I challenge the truth of this proposition by introducing the concept of a physical relationship with God that is not subject to this constraint. I argue, first, that a physical relationship with God is metaphysically possible; second, that its plausibility is supported by natural theology; and third, that a perfectly loving God would prefer physical relationships with human beings over consciousness-constrained relationships, because a perfectly loving God would prefer to preserve the integrity of human freedom of participation and allow inclusion of all people regardless of their natural cognitive capabilities. I also offer an interpretation of apparent divine hiddenness in the light of the idea of God’s openness for physical relationships.

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